Featured on

Bainbridge Island Summer

 Studio Tour

brochures, banners and posters

Encaustic Folkart - Idyllic Series

WHAT IS ENCAUSTIC?

Encaustic is the very earliest known form of paint, first used by the Greeks over 2000 years ago. The amazing Fayum Mummy Portraits were painted in encaustic by the Greeks in Egypt. They are still fresh and vibrant, and are exhibited today in the world's greatest galleries.

Encaustic painting involves melting, applying, then heat fusing layers of beeswax (resin and pigment can be added). The wax gives an optical depth unique to the medium.

Encaustic has returned from obscurity as modern tools have made the process more practical. Diego Rivera used encaustic in the 1930's on his murals. Jasper Johns is credited with the current renaissance of encaustic fine art with his work that began in the 1950's.
 

"Why paint in a process-intensive medium that's over 2000 years old?" is rarely asked. That answer is a given: luminosity, rich surface, the beauty of the wax.
 

Carrie Goller interprets this ancient medium into very contemporary work, creating paintings with brilliant luminosity, as well as some with a rich, delicate opalescence. Maintaining their freshness and intensity, they will not darken or yellow. Because of the protective nature of wax they are impervious to moisture and need not be varnished or put under glass.

ARTIST  STATEMENT

Art has been a dominant force in my life since my childhood on tiny Bainbridge Island in Washington. Although I pursued a Fine Arts degree, I spent many years focused on other priorities until an unwelcome encounter with mortality provided the catalyst that allowed me to reevaluate and fully express my creativity.

Art has become a necessity for me. It's both work and play -- exhilarating yet restorative. It's where drama is safely indulged -- and thus balance achieved. While absorbed in the creative process I lose track of time and feel all is well, content and confident in my creative ability.

I respond enthusiastically to color and am particularly lured by simple yet sensual organic forms and the intoxicating realm of vibrant colors, shapes and textures found in nature. My work is composed in a very conscientious and exacting method. Color is built up from the full spectrum, beginning with violets, then blues, etc., and finally highlighting to leave hints of underlying color showing through. The glazing process is repeated to distill luminosity.

A variety of media keeps me interested and endlessly inspired -- oil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, graphite, mixed media and recently encaustic. The ancient process of melting, applying, then fusing beeswax leaves me thankful to the hardworking bees.

Although I now work from a wide range of subjects, from still life to plein air, I started with portraiture to enhance my connection with people and creatures. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture a subject's spirit and character, with the goal of transcending photographic images. The result I am seeking may be elusive, yet the artistic process continues to intrigue me.

Resume

Affiliations

Art Education

• Northwest College of Art, Poulsbo, WA (Fine Arts Degree program)
• Aleksandr Kargopoltsev, Russian Classical Master, Drawing Course
• Claudia McKinstry/CMK Studios, Bainbridge Island, ongoing weekly mentoring/workshops
• Gayle Bard (landscape artist) Bainbridge Island, mentoring
• Juliette Aristides (Classical Master, Atelier at Gage Institute) portrait course
• Liberty Bay Art School Representational Master Drawing course
• Liberty Bay Art School Color Theory course
• Liberty Bay Art School Friday series workshops
• Jane Wallis pastel portrait course
• Stella Canfield (Bulgarian watercolorist) courses
• Judith Barnett oil portrait course

Teaching / Mentoring / Demonstrations

• 2009 Healthy Living Expo, Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce, encaustic demonstration (1/24/09)
• 2009 Art Internship, Northwest College of Art, Fine Arts student, Jorgine Agasa (Fine Arts degree 2009)
• 2008/09 Art Internship, Northwest College of Art, Fine Arts student, Susan Olgivie (Fine Arts degree 2009)
• 2007 Art Internship, Northwest College of Art, Fine Arts student, Shana Fowler (Fine Arts degree 12/07)
• 2007 Web Design Internship, Olympic College, Brian Lewis (graduated 2007)
• Private mentoring / instruction in drawing, painting, encaustic
• Encaustic demo, Art Expo / Winslow Contemporary Arts
• Oil painting demo, Silverdale Arts Walk
• Art Docent, Vinland Elementary (2003-2004)
• Volunteer Art Teacher, Christ the King Academy (2004-2008)

Exhibit Schedules

• 2009 Exhibit Schedule
• 2008 Exhibit Schedule
• 2007 Exhibit Schedule
• 2006 Exhibit Schedule
• 2005 Exhibit Schedule
• 2004 Exhibit Schedule
  

Press and Publications

• Bainbridge Review, Arts & Leasure feature article: It's a brand new show, by Goller!, Island native mounts fresh work at Victor Alexander (5/1/09); online http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/bir/entertainment/44169382.html
• The Port Townsend Leader (Port Townsend, WA), Art Mine (2/09)
• The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA), Wham Bam Art Sampler, Waiting (Raven encaustic) (12/4/08),      www.thenewstribune.com/ae/artmuseums/story/540102.html
• Rio Nuevo Publishers,  book cover and inside art for The Raven, Soaring through History, Legend and Lore, by Lynn Hassler (10/07 release)
• Tacoma Weekly, Artist Explores Ancient PaintingTechnique (6/29/07)
• Seattle P.I., Madoka restaurant review art photo (6/14/07)
• Central Kitsap Reporter, An Artistic Side to Advanced Medical Imaging (3/10/07)
• ArtsNews, Winslow Contemporary Arts Introduces New Artists, page 8 (Spring 2007)
• Peninsula Lifestyle Magazine, Art Showcase, Missoni, full page 17 feature (July/August 2006)
• American Artist Magazine, Portrait of The Director, page 4 (10/06 and online)
• American Artist Magazine, Portrait of Gloria, page 4 (9/06 and online)
• Bainbridge Review, Arts & Lesiure full page feature: Art is a Fruitful Pursuit for Goller (2/1/06); A Smorgasbord of Talent at the Art Buffet: Women Artists Find a New Roundtable for Artistic Inspiration, Social Interaction, page A3 (3/15/06); Scene & Heard, page A5 (7/17/04)
• Central Kitsap Reporter, An “Art Buffet” of Miniature Paintings, Plein Air Oils... (3/17/06)
• Bainbridge Island Arts News, 4 Pears, page 8 (Spring 2006)
• Kitsap Arts & Entertainment, Hummingbird III, Pear Harvest: 1 Artist, 2 Shows, page 11 (5/26/06); Cherry
• Blossoms II, page 10 (4/21/06); Sad Woman, page 10 (9/9/05); Pears III(a), page 11 (10/28/05)
• The Bainbridge Islander, Idyllic 9, entire front page (8/2/08); Throne of Thorns, page 10 (1/14-20/06)
• Art Access (www.artaccess.com), Bainbridge Island Studio Tour (page 3), The Sky's the Limit (page 19), Rainier Tower (page 34), (7/08-8/08), Anjou, page 15 (12/05 - 1/06)
• Bremerton Arts News, What’s Up, Cover: Sad Woman, page 6, (9/7 - 9/13/05)

Honors and Awards

• International Color Marketing Group, one of 10 artists selected to exhibit at semi-annual conference (4/19/09)
• Healthy Living Expo, invited by Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce to promote art in healing, sponsored by Harrison Medical Centers, encaustic demonstration (1/28/09)
• Peninsula Art League, Kimball Gallery, Gig Harbor, WA, hired to Judge 250 member exhibit
• National PTSA Reflections Program, judged K-5th grade student entries for state competition
• Jeanne F. Roberts Consutling (private Art Broker), Almost Famous private exhibit, Bellevue, WA, one of 20 artists selected (November 14, 15, 16)
• Picture Source, Seattle, one of 16 artists represented; one of two artists chosen for limited editions on national print market
• Indianola Garden Tour sponsor, The Trillium School, chose “Pucci” for 2007 poster art / publicity campaign
• Bainbridge in Bloom (garden tour), two works chosen as runners up for 2007 poster; two works featured on 2007 boxed set of cards
• Bainbridge in Bloom (Patron Dinner Auction), selected as commissioned artist 2006
• Madoka Restaurant, Bainbridge Island, chosen as house artist
• Silverdale Art Walk, 2006 Honorable Mention Award; art featured on cover of Sound Publishing group’s What's Up
• Selected as Artist in Action for Bremerton and Silverdale Art Walks (2004, 2005)
• Keynote Speaker / Portrait Presentation, Susan G. Komen Rally for a Cure, Wing Point Golf & Country Club, Bainbridge Island (2004)

Charity & Auctions

• Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities
• Cultural Arts Foundation NW
• Harmony Hill Cancer Retreat Center
• Auction for the Arts (Bainbridge Island)
• Bainbridge Performing Arts
• Bainbridge in Bloom
• Admiral Theater Foundation
• Islandwood, Bainbridge Island
• West Sound Wildlife Shelter, Bainbridge Island
• Bainbridge Island Land Trust
• Kitsap Community Foundation
• Global Team for Local Initiatives (Ethiopian Hamar Tribe project)
• Out Kitsap
• Christ the King Academy, Poulsbo
• The Trillium School, Indianola
• Vinland Elementary School, Poulsbo
• Poulsbo Elementary School
• Suquamish Elementary School
• Tarver Kidney Fund
• East-West Outreach (Romanian Orphanage program)
• Susan G. Komen Foundation
• Race for the Cure
• Rally for a Cure
• Breast Cancer 3-Day
• Breast Cancer Prevention Fund
• American Cancer Society
• Charles Moriarty Foundation
• Alzheimer's Association
• Lions Club
• Rotary Auction

Skilled in several media, Carrie's artwork covers heirloom portraits in oils, the richness of an old world still life, whimsical illustrations, and brilliant watercolors.

Denise Gargano, Artistic Representative, www.AtWorkArtWork.com

The enduring essence of this woman is embodied in her work, which will outlive all of us.

Elizabeth Gadbois, Art Consultant, www.WinslowContemporaryArts.com